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New Tomb Raider Big Winner

This years E3 has only just started yet but already the upcoming Tomb Raider game is named the biggest of the big five winners at the Microsoft Press Conference. IGN writes: "Tomb Raider was unquestionably the highlight[..]!" Good news for all fans out there!

Tomb Raider Nominations

At E3 the new Tomb Raider is being swamped with prices and nominations! Square Enix has posted a list of tributes on Facebook, which I want to quote here:

Quoted

NEW GameBlog.fr: Best of Show Nominee
NEW ShortList.com: Best Game Nominee
NEW ShortList.com: Best Action Game Nominee
NEW GameSpy: Best of E3 2012 Nominee
NEW IGN: Best of E3 2012
NEW Electronic Playground: Best of E3 Winner
NEW CVG: Best of E3 Winner
NEW Multiplayer.it: Best of E3 Nominee
NEW Destructoid: Best of E3 Nominee Action/Adventure
NEW Polygon: E3 2012 Editor’s Choice
NEW 9Lives.be: Best Adventure Game Nominee
NEW 9Lives.be: Best Action Game Nominee
NEW 9Lives.be: Best Overall Game Nominee
Game Informer: Best of Show Nominee
GamingXP: Best of E3 2012 Nominee
GamesRadar: MVG Nominee
OXM: MVG Nominee
OPM: MVG Nominee
Newsarama: Most Kick-ass Hero or Heroine Nominee
Newsarama: Best Jaw-dropping Moment Nominee
Games.cz: Best of E3 2012

Tomb Raider "Game of the Show"

IGN, the noted gaming platform, has elected Tomb Raider the Game of E3. The Team of Crystal Dynamics was presented with the price directly at the IGN booth on the convention. In his acceptance speech Darrell Gallagher, Head of Studio, gives thanks to the great team for its hard and passionate work. "We are very very proud to accept [this award]." Then follows a Thank You to all the "amazing fans" of the franchise. "Lara is back" Karl Steward, Brand Director at CD, finally adds.

Tomb Raider at E3

TOMB RAIDER, no subtitle, is essentially the story that's never been told, but that’s always been the most important in Lara's life. Originally her background story went that Lara, at the age of 21, survived a plane crash in the Himalayas and had to make it on her own in the wilderness. This event made her the fearless Tomb Raider we got to love. Unfortunately in Tomb Raider Legend the story around the plane crash was changed to occur at the age of 9 and leading ultimately to her mother’s death. This caused a lot of confusion among fans. TOMB RAIDER offers a fresh start. Forget plane crashes, here comes the “Endurance”.

After finishing her College education at the age of 21 Lara travels aboard the Endurance, a research vessel, under Captain Conrad Roth. In the Dragon’s Triangle, near the coast of Japan, they are shipwrecked. Lara is separated from the ship, but ultimately ends up on the same island as the rest of the crew. She is captured by a group to be known as the Scavengers. After her successful escape, she sets out to explore the island.

Lara's escape from the "Scavanger's Den" or short "The Den" was featured in the first demo shown last year. The second demo, shown behind closed doors at this year's E3, which has a length of approximately 30 minutes of game time, will continue where the first demo ended, atop the cliff overlooking shipwreck bay.

Lara soon discovers one of Endurance’s lifeboats and makes searching for the rest of the crew (“Search for traces of other survivors”) her new goal. She discovers several obstacles in her path and is forced to balance across a fallen tree and jump over gaps. Further up the path she has to do her first serious climbing, up the remains of an old B-52 bomber which comes loose under her weight. She can barely escape in time. Finally Lara comes across an abandoned fire place where she finds the pack of her friend Sam, a radio, a video camera, and a box with a single match inside. When she is caught in the rain she seeks shelter at a campsite underneath a cliff overhang. Exhausted, badly hurt, thirsty and shivering Lara tries to get comfortable. She captures water from the waterfall with her fingers and sips it to quench her thirst, before she lights up the camp fire with the one remaining match she found.

These campsites are called “Base Camps” and play an important role in the new Tomb Raider. They serve as hubs for all nearby tasks, may they be story-related or sidequests. The base camp shown in the concept below is called "Sheltered Ridge" and the general area Lara is currently exploring is named "Coastal Bluff". When arriving at this base camp for the first time, Lara is still fighting with the pain from the injury she sustained when falling from her sack-prison in the "Den", which still reflects in the way she moves. When she leaves the camp, she's feeling considerably better.

After taking shelter from the thunderstorm, Lara finds herself hungry and sets out to find food. She stumbles across the body of a dead hunter with bow who's hanging upside down from a tree. (Makes you wonder how he got into this unfortunate position.) Her climbing skills allow Lara to grab the bow and continue onwards with it. In this open area she discovers a lot of wildlife, bunnies, birds, and deer, the latter of which she has to hunt and kill for food. Once she has killed a deer, which can be done quickly by a headshot or slowly by several shots to less vulnerable areas, Lara cuts it open with the spearhead to gather the meat. She then returns to the base camp once more to consume her food.

This open area, where Lara finds the bow and hunts deer, is an "Exploration Space", an area inside the game which can be freely explored for artefacts and other non-story-related finds. For example there are totems around the island which Lara can shoot for "Experience" (XP). "Exploration Spaces" can be accessed - at any time the gamer is not within a story line quest he can't get out - from a nearby base camp, any other base camp via fast travel, or by foot if it is within reach. These spaces can be explored at different times of the day, depending on the time it was during the last story mission.

In an interview with IGN Karl Stewart hints, that the original bow owner has been 'strung up a long time ago', but it's not mentioned how he got to be there. The deer will appear randomly and move around freely, they will never walk the same path twice. Hunting with the bow will be the players first contact with manual aiming. In this instance the player has to hunt to advance in the game, later hunting can be done to earn XP.

Back at the base camp Lara manages to get through to Roth, using the radio. After Lara tells him she was captured by the Scavengers and that their colleague Steph was killed down in the den, he gives her a pep talk and tells her to find him at his location. Lara sets off again. When she hears eerie music, she follows it through a now open bunker door. The door closes behind her and she has no other choice but to go down a ladder and into the caverns underneath the bunker. She notices strange markings that make no sense to her, hinting at the (unsolved) mystery surrounding the island. When a door blocks her path, she has to go searching for something she can use as a crowbar. Utilizing her burning torch she can open another path and find an "Old Pry Tool" with which she can then open the door and continue. She goes up the ladder and ends up back outside.

After the "Bow" the "Old Pry Tool" is the second major item Lara adds to her gear. It is a multi-purpose tool which will be upgraded throughout the adventure. For now it will only be used to pry open the door. If you'd like to see the demo so far with your own eyes, I recommend to you the following video:

Lara follows voices and finds Sam talking to a strange man. She tries to stay hidden from view to assess the situation before getting into it, but Sam calls out to her. The man tells her that his name is Matthias, that he is "a teacher by trade" and that he is afraid of "the savages who live here". When Lara suggests to go find Roth the situation gets out of hand and Sam is taken captive by Matthias, who holds a knife to her throat. Lara tries to get her freed by threatening the man with her bow but he can get away with Sam when Lara's foot gets stuck in a bear trap.

While she is trapped, she hears wolves howling. When they finally attack, with lightning striking all around them, Lara is forced to act quickly and shoot three wolves, one after the other, when they jump out from the bushes.

This is a pretty tough fight since Lara can not move freely. She can only aim left and right, up and down within a certain area while her foot is caught in the trap.

Four of the Endurance crew arrive shortly after Lara has disposed of the wolves and help her out of the trap. She tells them that Sam has been captured and they plan to set out after them to attempt a rescue. However it is decided that Lara should rest and then return to Roth to inform him of the situation. Doctor Whitman, one of her fellow crew members, decides to accompany Lara. While she rests at a camp site, he scouts ahead. When he finds a closed gate with an opening mechanism, he calls out to Lara to come over.

At the gate she discovers that there are two turning mechanisms that open it. Doctor Whitman is manning one, the other is unfortunately missing a handle. Lara thinks about using her pry tool as handle but it turns out to be too weak. She then sets out to find equipment to strengthen it. With enough salvage she can then return to the base camp and upgrade.

Lara has to hunt around inside boxes and crates to find so called "salvage" to gain enough material for an upgrade; in this case 50. They are found in groups of ten, so you basically need five finds. There are also several wolves prowling the area. If these wolves get through Lara's defence and manage to bite her, she can shake them off by moving the left Analog Stick from left to right and back again. The location where you search for salvage is another "Exploration Space". If you get lost in such an area and are trying to find your way, you can use the "intuitive design" to your advantage by following a stream or running from landmark to landmark. You can also use the map or activate the "Survival Instinct" mode, in which important bits will be highlighted and your current target shines like a beacon and is indicated by a compass marker on the screen.

With the upgraded axe Lara then returns to the waiting Doctor Whitman and inserts it into the mechanism on her side. Together they turn their wheels and open the gate. Once through the gate, in the forest on the other side, they are suddenly surrounded by a group of the savages. While Whitman immediately surrenders the gun he is carrying, Lara - remembering her personal experience with the scavengers - is not willing to disarm and aims her arrow at the attackers. She is tackled and disarmed from behind. The bow is taken from her and her hands are tied behind her back before she is knocked out cold.

Later, when awaking in a camp of the scavengers, Lara witnesses how another captive is shot when trying to escape. Nevertheless she uses the confusion to try and escape herself. Moving in the shadows, sneaking along a wall, she evades the patrolling men with flashlights and manages to hide in a shack. Unfortunately one of the scavengers, with Russian background, finds her and drags her from her hiding place. He starts harassing her, but Lara fights him off, kneeing him in his soft parts and biting him. When she is roughly thrown to the ground, she manages to grab his handgun and pull the trigger, killing the man with a shot to his head. Lara is shocked by what has happened, looking at the man horrified. But finally she picks up the gun to continue her fight for survival.

This last bit, which also concludes the second demo, is a very important moment in Lara's character development throughout the game. After killing her first creature - the deer - earlier on, this will be the moment she kills her first human. It is only one of the tough situations Lara has to fight through in what is basically her first adventure. Everything that happens will shape her and make her tougher. Throughout the game she will evolve from a sacred, inexperienced young woman to the tough, crafty adventurer we know.

This also concludes the first part of my E3 report. I have also planned to release an article introducing the new features and important elements of the new Tomb Raider and an article dealing with behind-the-scenes information. Stay tuned.

GTTV Interview with Darrell Gallagher

In GTTV Episode 522 the upcoming Tomb Raider gets a closer look. While they show several scenes from the material that was showcased at E3 (behind closed doors or at the Microsoft Conference), Brand Manager Karl Stewart, Art Director Brian Horton and Crystal Dynamics studio head Darrell Gallagher hint at what to expect from the game and what happens after the scenes we have seen so far.

New Crystal Habit Podcast

In their newest Crystal Habit Podcast, released earlier this morning, Meagan Marie talks to Karl Stewart, Kyle Peschel, Brian Horton, and Scot Amos about the new Tomb Raider game. Mixed into this audio stream there are excerpts from the E3 and community Q&A sessions. There is a transcript of the pod cast available on the page linked below.

Lara Croft's New Voice Unveiled

British Actress Camilla Luddington, born 1983, has been unveiled as the new voice of Lara Croft in the Tomb Raider reboot. She will not only lend Lara her voice but also her mimic and general performance. Camilla will make two public appearances in July, at Nerd HQ and Comic Con.

Quoted

Ready for some big news? We’re very excited to finally reveal the voice & performance talent behind Lara Croft in Tomb Raider – English-born actress Camilla Luddington. Finding Camilla was no easy task, as it took an international talent search across Europe and the US to find the actress to deliver the right emotion and tone for the character.

Camilla will make her public debut discussing the role in San Diego this July, participating in both Nerd HQ and Comic-Con panels featuring Tomb Raider and the story behind reimagining the franchise.

In addition to a recent role on Showtime’s Californication, Camilla can be found in the current season of HBO’s True Blood.

The Final Hours of Tomb Raider Part I: An Icon Reborn

Since today there is a video of the new series "The Final Hours of Tomb Raider" on the the Tomb Raider YouTube channel called "An Icon Reborn". In this first episode we can see actress Camilla Luddington at work on the motion capture set, including an interesting interview and several more behind the scenes views.

San Diego Comic Con Interview: Karl Stewart & Camilla Luddington

At San Diego Comic Con gamespot did an interview with Global Brand Manager Karl Stewart and the voice and motion capture artist for Lara Croft Camilla Luddington. They talk about what they are going to demo at Comic Con, how they did the motion capture work and more. Karl hints, that the minimum game time - not counting all the side missions - will be 10 hours+.

Second Part of the 2012 E3 Demo Shown

In their SDCC (San Diego Comic Con) "All Access Gameplay" report Gamespot finally reveals the second part of this year's E3 demo - which has only been shown behind closed doors, and streamed once. While the demo runs, they interview Comic Con visitors that got the opportunity to play part of the game and answer their questions.

The Game Mechanics

In the following article the game mechanics of the Tomb Raider reboot will be explained to you a little further.

When Lara is first thrown into life on the mysterious island, after surviving the shipwreck, she has nothing to help her survive but her wits. After escaping imprisonment in her cocoon by using fire to her advantage, Lara will soon learn all other uses fire can have. With a torch, which can for example be found attached to a wall, she will light up the caves to find her way and burn down obstacles that block her path. Lara will also discover that torching bundles can give her items hidden inside, may they be story-related, side-quest items or loot. The torch will go out when it gets wet, but can be lit again at other fire places. The main puzzle in the Scavenger Den is fire based. Fire can also be used as a weapon, in combination with the bow and flammable substances, but this will be introduced later in the game (as seen in the Xbox presentation at E3).

Another key to Lara's survival in the early hours is learning to hunt for food. But without a proper weapon she won’t be able to kill for meat. Luckily she stumbles across an unfortunate hunter, who has no use for his bow anymore. Arrows for the bow are not hard to come by at first, so Lara can stock up and learn to hunt deer (or what the E3 Community Ambassadors named “Bambi”). She should however not waste her ammunition and grind for XP, as she will still run out of eventually. Later throughout the game arrows will become rarer, but using her XP to upgrade a feature called “Arrow Retrieval” will help hunters in need of more arrows, by enabling them to pick up used arrows from dead bodies. The bow can be used to hunt (Lara won't be constantly hunting for food, hunting after the first story related mission will be for XP; Lara can not only hunt the deer, she will also be able to gather meat from birds and rabbits), shoot targets (as part of side missions) and kill enemies (like wolves and later scavengers).

The third gear item Lara comes across is the “Old Pry Tool” (axe). At first this is only used to break open locked doors. When Lara and her colleague Doctor Whitman find a closed gate with an opening mechanism missing a handle, Lara finds that using her pry tool could work, if it were stronger. Fortunately it can be strengthened by upgrading using salvage material found in crates throughout the island. This item can also be used as a melee weapon and serve as handle at a death-slide.

Throughout the game Lara will use a few more gear items that help her advance. A handgun, a shotgun and a parachute have been confirmed.

Experience (XP) is earned by a variety of actions. Fulfilling a certain story related task will get the player a lot of XP, usually between 100 and 200 points (for example finding the dangling corpse with the bow or going down into the darkness underneath the bunker will get you 100 XP each; mastering the fight against the wolves while stuck in a bear trap will gain you 200 XP), other side actions like performing a headshot, finding and artefact, harvesting a plant (Survivalist) or collecting meat will get you between 10 and 25 XP. A certain number of XP will enable you to buy Skill Points. You can for example spend them forone of the so-called "Ingenuity Upgrades" (for example "Arrow Retrieval" which will let you pick up your arrows again from killed opponents, "Hunter" which will allow you to spot prey more easily or "Survivalist" which allows you to collect XP from certain plants; a list of all Ingenuity Upgrades known to date can be found in WIKI RAIDER).

Survival Instinct is a feature that will help lost raiders to find their way. By pressing a certain button Lara will enter a different view mode in which important items (things that can be set on fire, opened, or otherwise used) are highlighted. The next mission goal is indicated by a beacon and a little marker in the corner of the screen pointing into its direction.

San Diego Comic Con Tomb Raider Panels

Keep your eyes open for the two Tomb Raider Panels at San Diego Comic Con.

Quoted

Karl Stewart (TOMB RAIDER global brand director), Noah Hughes (creative director), John Stafford (narrative designer) & Camilla Luddington (voice of Lara Croft) discuss the journey of reimagining one of the most iconic franchises in video game history, TOMB RAIDER, through story, performance and a lot of planning! As a world exclusive for the Comic-Con panel the team will also be joined by Rhianna Pratchett, Lead Writer responsible for crafting the story with the team over the last two years.

Crystal Habit Podcast #12

Today Crystal Dynamics has released the twelfth episode of their Crystal Habit Podcast. This one was recorded during San Diego Comic Con last week. Meagan Marie interviews Zachery Levi - who is presenting "The Last Hours of Tomb Raider" -, Carl Steward and Camilla Luddington.

As always there are many interesting questions and answers provided, for example Karl explains the meaning of the title "The Last Hours of Tomb Raider", and Camilla talks about her experiences while doing motion capture and how it feels to play the demo on the Con.

Gamescom Nominations

Tomb Raider has already been nominated for two awards at the upcoming Gamescom in Cologne, Germany, which will open its doors on Wednesday, August 15th for trade visitors and August 16th for the general public.

TOMB RAIDER has been nominated for "Best of gamescom" and "Best PC Game", more nominations are likely to follow.

HITMAN: ABSOLUTION, another Square Enix title has also been nominated for awards.

Gamescom Live

Gamescom, the large videogame convention in Cologne, Germany has begun. We set out on the exhibitors day to scout ahead and bring you images, information and the latest on Tomb Raider. Follow my tweets:

The Final Hours of Tomb Raider Part II: Origins of a Story

The second part of "The Final Hours of Tomb Raider" is now available on the Tomb Raider youtube channel. The title of the episode is "Origins of a Story" and it focusses on the creation of the story for Tomb Raider.

First Pre-order Details Revealed

The first Pre-order bundle for the upcoming Tomb Raider has been revealed.

North American Amazon customers will get the following extras when pre-ordering the game:

exclusive art book

in-game skin for Lara

"The Final Hours of Tomb Raider" digital copy for Kindle Fire

Quoted

Pre-order the Amazon exclusive Tomb Raider - The Final Hours Edition and receive an exclusive Art Book, In-Game Skin for Lara and a digital copy of Geoff Keighley's, The Final Hours of Tomb Raider for the Kindle Fire. The book and in-game skin will be available in the product packaging. A code to access The Final Hours of Tomb Raider for Kindle Fire will be emailed to you within two days of shipment. Offer valid when shipped and sold by Amazon.com. This offer will be extended to all existing pre-orders. Limit one per household. Amazon reserves the right to change or terminate this promotion at any time.